My Take On WordCamp US in Photos

My Take On WordCamp US in Photos

Reluctant Participant

This year was the inaugural WordCamp US to be held in Philadelphia. It was to be the largest WordCamp with the highest number of WordCamp geeks under one roof and it was to take place in our Nation’s first Capital, which seems appropriate. As a WordCamp “aficionado” you’d think I’d be totally excited to go, right? I mean, what could be more fun than spending a few days around some of my favorite people talking about one of the things I love most?

Except, I was totally unenthralled (<—Spellcheck tells me I might be making that word up) with the whole idea because:

It’s Philadelphia. Other than the cheesesteaks, I’ve heard that the place is a dump.

It’s Philadelphia in the winter time. Nothing sounds less appealing to me, as someone who lives in a cold-weather climate, than traveling to another cold-weather climate.

Traveling can be, in and of itself, a burden; but, the thought of something like an unexpected blizzard, which could leave me stranded in an airport, is not a pleasant prospect. This is especially true if you consider that I have to leave my wife behind to handle six children for several days.

2,000 people in one place. The simple reason why I don’t go to large tech conventions.

However, Sarah & I were pleasantly surprised to be invited to the Community Summit. Sarah was also accepted as a speaker. So, we booked our travel arrangements and started planning for the trip at hand. We both embraced the opportunity to take part in planning the direction of WordPress for 2016 via the Community Summit. I made plans with Sarah to sit down and hammer out some company plans for 2016. Yet even with this all set, to say that I was a reluctant participant would have been an understatement. In truth, there was no single WordCamp this year that I looked forward to less. But, none the less, off I went.

WordCamp US In Pictures

I have so much to say about the trip because, much to my chagrin, this WordCamp was, hands down, the best WordCamp I’ve ever been to. I wanted to share my journey with you through pictures! Would you join me on my little photo essay? It’s fun, I promise!

PSA: Outfoxed by Socks

You’d think that with as much as I travel, I’d remember to pack socks. Just after checking luggage at the airport, I remembered what I had forgotten. SOCKS! I popped into a Brooks Brothers to grab some socks and just as a PSA: If you plan to go souvenir shopping or, say, feed your kids, don’t buy socks at Brooks Brothers; especially if it’s in the airport!

Trippy Meeting You Here

Look who I ran into at the airport! Apparently he was going the same place I was – go figure. Always a fantastic conversation to be had when I see JJJ.

The Dwight D: Photo Gallery I

I stayed in a small boutique hotel about 10 blocks from the venue called The Dwight D. It was to be my home for the next six days.The plan was to get a room with a kitchenette so I could stock the fridge and do my own cooking. Guess how many times I did that (hint: 0).My mornings started with a cup of coffee at the little table. This mug was the only dish I used the whole time (Yes, I washed it in between uses. Otherwise, that’d be gross!)I was on the Fourth Floor in what they called “the penthouse.” This was the view looking down from my balcony.Another view from my balcony during the day time. No complaints here!

Night One: Photo Gallery II

A few of us decided to go to the Philadelphia Museum of Art after the first day of Community Summit (No pictures allowed: What happens at the Summit…)The front of the museum was lit up like a Christmas tree. Well, except for the ACTUAL Christmas tree, anyway.The view from atop the “Rocky Steps.” For the last time, NO I did not run up the steps. I’m practically geriatric for the love of all that’s holy!After dinner, Sarah and I decided to go on a photowalk. We found this, along with many other gems, during the two hours of wandering aimlessly looking for subjects.Poop Emoji LIVE! Don’t let the smile fool you. He wouldn’t give his autograph. Jerk!Looking at City Hall. This building would become my obession over the next few days.

The Main Event

The banner was huge. I used to make signs. This would have been a pain in the keister.Cami Kaos and Alex Block gave the opening remarks thanking the speakers, sponsors & volunteers. She either said they were the “bread and butter” of WordCamps, or they were talking about lunch.It’s a WordCamp tradition! The first speaker always has technical difficulties. The only slide that really mattered, anyway! Sarah kept her composure and gave a great talk about project managing remote teams.

The Hallway Track: Where I spent all my time.

If you’ve been to any number of WordCamps, you know that there are the official tracks and then the unofficial “Hallway Track.” It was a busy track with lots of people getting to know or catching up with each other as well as taking care of a lot of business. It is my experience that people you meet in the Hallway Track are people who will become your friends, mentors, and allies as you grow within the Community.

The Hallway Track at WordCamp USThe main hallway was where the sponsor tables were.Here we show the typical attendee demonstrating his ability to multi-task.“j’accuse!”Andrea Rennick creates quilts from WordCamp Tshirts. It is all hand-stitched and 100% amazing!Here she shows off her work and explains the process she goes through to make a quilt. This, as she says, is her teaching face.Photographers were everywhere! I had to get at least one cliché pic!

Lunch

Thank you, WordCamp US, for the wonderful lunch served both days, the awesome jazz band, and the efficiency in which it was all handled. What a great venue! The lunch room was bustling both days. In spite of our collective introversion as tech nerds, many of us enjoy sitting and sharing and visiting with each other in real life vs 140 character tweets back and forth online.

Both Days we were treated to live jazz while we ate.Just chillin’ before getting back to it.Dre giving the stink eye (his words, not mine)

WordCamp US Swag was ON POINT!

The “Official” WordCamp US Beanie! Get ’em while supplies last!

What’s a WordCamp without swag? And an inaugural WordCamp of this magnitude needs some pretty cool swag, right? There was a lot of swag to pick from and I scored a really cool beanie like the one you see here – but I completely forgot to pick up my WordCamp US T-shirt from the registration area. I was too busy in The Hallway Track.

“Slinked In”

However, I *hear* the swag was pretty amazing. GoDaddy had four different Wapuu coins (designed by Michelle Schulp) of various colors. Depending on what color you drew, you had the potential to win all kinds of cool things, including the biggest prize: a drone. There were “virtual reality” glasses, slinkies and all sorts of other things.

The 2015 State of the Word with Matt Mullenweg

Konstantin Obenland opens the State of the Word Address with an introduction.December 5th was declared “WordCamp Day” in Philadelphia by David Oh of the Philadelphia City Council.Matt gives his traditional “State of the Word” presentation in which we are told to “Learn Javascript Deeply”

The After Party: Lucky Strike Bowling Alley

The After Party was held at Lucky Strike, a bowling alley with bowling, ping-pong and pool, along with a bar and plenty of room to socialize. It was every bit as fun as it sounds!

WordCamp US Contributor Day

It was decided that for Contributor day, Sarah and I would contribute to the local economy. Sarah planned a day of tourism and fun for those of us who had any energy left.

You can’t start your day out without a good donut. Federal Donuts is just as famous for their chicken as they are their donuts. No, we did not try the chicken, but we did have “one of everything” when it came to the donuts!Our next stop was Eastern State Penitentiary, a prison opened in 1829 and finally shut down in 1973. It was the first prison of its kind and is reported to be among the most haunted places in the U.S.This is one of the cell blocks (Cell block 8, maybe?). Each person got their own cell. In other words, every prisoner was in solitary confinement.Sarah decided to try her hand at being a prisoner. They couldn’t take it. They had to let her out.After the Penn, we rode the double-decker tour bus to The Franklin Institute, a hands on museum of science. What a cool place!I had to get one last shot of my favorite building. I probably could have spent days just taking photos of its amazing detail.

We’re ON A BOAT: Dinner With Friends

While waiting for our bus to come outside of the Franklin Institute, we ran into Ben Fox of Sidekick and dinner plans started being formed. It’s so cool to be roaming around Philadelphia and run into friends on the street! We pulled together a group and went to a seafood restaurant on a boat. I didn’t get any photos of the people we were with (there were about eight of us, I believe), but I did take a few with my phone. It was THE best way to end a WordCamp, by far.

Moshulu is a seafood restaurant located at Penn’s Landing. It was a slow night and the staff was happy to give us a tour after dinner. The fact that I didn’t take my DSLR with me made me a sad panda.A view of the harbor from the deck. I think I’m looking at New Jersey here, but I do not recall for certain, and geography is not my strong suit.This was the Trout Stack which consisted of two fillets with some steak sandwiched in between. It was Dy-No-Mite!

Time to Go Home

I woke up bright and early Monday morning so I could get home. It was time and I was ready. But what had started out as an event in which I had little to no desire to attend ended up being the perfect way to end my WordCamp tour for 2015 and was, BY FAR, the best WordCamp I had attended all year. And yes, that even includes Milwaukee (the best Non-WordCamp US to attend on Planet Earth).

The Milwaukee Airport was all decked out for Christmas. It was good to be home.Santa’s new Harley Powered sleigh. It’s the only way to fly. I stayed out of Brooks Brothers this time.

You can find more photos from my trip to WordCamp US on my Instagram Account. I keep it private because I post photos of our foster children but please feel free to request a connection! I also blog semi-regularly at http://twotofive.us when time allows. Thanks for making it through this post!

Marc’s driven spirit moves ServerPress, LLC forward with elevated momentum. With his business expertise, he rolls up his sleeves helping the Team in every possible way to ensure a smooth Workflow. Besides work, Marc is a big Advocate for Foster Care. Yes. 8 kids and counting…